At some point in September, the long awaited smartphone payment service will become available.
The m-commerce world is holding its breath as the Isis mobile wallet is finally aligned for launch by Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, and AT&T, at some point during this month.
The announcement was made by in a report which cited the CEO of VeriFone, Doug Bergeron.
It explained that the service will first become available in San Antonio, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Smartphone payments terminal specialist, VeriFone, will be working with Isis on this launch. The marketplaces of both cities have already been primed to be the starter locations for this new service. That said, no officials from the mobile wallet itself have made any comments about the launch throughout the entire summer.
Mobile wallets are expected to experience a significant increase in popularity over the next five years.
Recent reports from Juniper Research have indicated that payments using smartphones and tablets are expected to increase by almost four times by 2017, breaking the $1.3 trillion mark for annual transaction values. Though m-commerce has already taken off in the United States, that marketplace has seen only the slowest of growth in terms of mobile wallet services and use. It is believed that the overall lack of infrastructure for this type of payment, and the fact that NFC enabled smartphones haven’t become common as of yet are likely holding back this growth.
T-Mobile’s senior vice president, Brad Duea, explained that this carrier will be rolling out “many more” smartphones that have been NFC enabled before the end of this year, which will notably add to its current range of four options.
Each of the carriers have placed a primary focus on the security of the Isis mobile wallet system, and will be capable of providing a remote erase service of the information on the device, in case the devices are ever lost or stolen.
The initial announcement regarding the Isis mobile wallet occurred in 2010, when the agreement was first made among T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. This service will provide consumers with a way to use their NFC enabled smartphones to redeem coupons, use store loyalty cards and complete transactions at the point of sale of a physical store location.
